The Hounds of War
by Chante-chan
Summary: As Sesshomaru is home - for now, there remains a lot to be seen about the war and how he'll respond to Kagome's pupped status. Will the war ever end?
1. Chapter 1

"Gods, I wish HQ would let us upgrade to the newest model." Bossy intoned, flipping through the Modern Systems and Drives magazine that had come in the mail. If her pathetic salary would let her, she'd go and buy the upgrades herself. It would make her own life so much easier. No more rebooting the system, no more unplugging the synapses and waiting a few seconds and then praying that fixed the problem. No more viruses. No more lag-happy system. She nearly sighed at the mere thought of it.

"Bossy? Hey! Oi, the system's acting weird! Come and fix it!" Fist on her hip, Angry nearly drug Bossy away from the magazine back to her monitor.

"What do you mean? It's been a long time since there has been any problems. Is Sesshomaru back or something?" Bossy laughed at her own joke, fumbling with the controls and looking through the programs.

"Well, yeah, actually. Or that's what Kagome was just told, at least."

There was a pause, heavy in the air. Bossy's fingers hovered above the screen, and she slowly turned to face Angry. Then the laughing started, hysterical and panicked, before she gingerly held the side of her face.

"Oh my God. We're going to die. All of us. Sesshomaru doesn't know. Sesshomaru doesn't know. Fuck."

The other Kagomes looked on as Bossy lost it, tears streaming down her face as she laughed, crumpling to the floor.

"This isn't good" Sad muttered, sharing a look with Angry.

"Tch. Tell me about it. She's the only one who knows how to do the reboot-fix-it-thing."

-;-

"There is so much that we have to do." Kagome muttered to herself as she struggled with orders and accounts. She wanted everything to be as it should be for when Sesshomaru finally made it back. He had trusted her, after all. It was her responsibility to worry about all accounts and budgets and expenses and making sure that everything ran smoothly. This was the most important thing she had been tasked with.

"Kagome, I am certain that my son will be pleased with the state of affairs. Seriously, child, calm down." Sesshomaru's mother intoned carelessly, waving away the servant that had brought her tea. She sat up to pour her own, casting a glance at Kagome.

"Could you send for Arisu for me again?" Kagome asked, worrying her lip as a cup of tea was poured for her as well.

"Kagome-chan, no need, here I am." Arisu wandered into the hearing room, a relaxed smile on her face.

"How goes the infirmary?" Kagome rubbed her stomach, trying to alleviate the pain of the pup pressing into her bladder.

"All goes well. The group of servants you assembled to search for ingredients are as skilled as ever. How goes your pains?" Arisu passed the miko a satchel of herbs, and nodded at her.

"I know not how long a hanyo takes to gestate, but I assume you are closing in on being full term. You should take those herbs twice a day as a tea during a meal. It should lessen the pain for you."

Kagome sighed, nodding at the girl. After the initial potion that Arisu had slipped her, and whatever she had seen, her loyalty bordered on as much as Jaken held for Sesshomaru. Initially, Kagome relied on Sesshomaru's mother to scent if any lies were forthcoming. After almost six months of no lies, Kagome began to trust the little witch.

"Would you be so kind as to escort me on a walk, Arisu? I cannot sit any longer." At her nod, Kagome worked her way to her feet, her stomach protruding from her slight form as she waddled towards the door. After a moment, Arisu made her way to the little hybrid's side, wrapping her arm tentatively around her shoulders. The further along the little woman got, the more independent she tried to be. It would be cute if Arisu didn't have to worry about her hurting herself.

An eventful twenty minutes later, Kagome finally sat at a bench under The Camphor tree to rest her aching feet. The white blossoms that littered the branches signaled that spring was in full swing. Watching as one in particular fluttered free from the branch, Kagome's eyes locked onto the delicate flower, small in size but aromatic, as it tumbled and turned through the air in a dance to a beat only nature knew. Finally, a pale arm was extended to catch the little treasure, and this gave Kagome a pause.

A pale arm? In the middle of the inner gardens? The only ones allowed in here were the royal family, and, of course, herself and her escort. But Sesshomaru's mother truly didn't like the gardens, aromatic and full of buzzing from insects and chatter from the little animals that lived here. Then…

"Sesshomaru-sama?" Kagome called, rushing to her feet despite the pain in her lower back. She waddled closer to the hand, half hidden behind another tree, and had to forcibly stamp down on the tears that wanted so desperately to roll hot and hard down her cheeks.

"Sesshomaru." This time it was said slower, such that she could savor every letter in his name, so glad was she to see him again.

"Kagome." It was soft-spoken, with an amused tilt to it, as he slowly rose to his feet. There was an easy smile, and a slow inhale, followed by the widening of eyes.

"Sesshomaru, it's been so long." It was whispered, perhaps, if she were honest with herself, a bit fearful, but it came out just the same. After a bit, her lip quivered, and the torrent that had built up with every second that he was gone crashed hard and fast, and she was nearly sobbing when he gathered her into his arms.

A soft exhale next to her ear, and she grasped at him, desperate for his touch after the months and months of waiting since the start of the war. Every day of keeping accounts, making negotiations, collecting herbs, going in secret to see to Rin, all of it unbearable in the moment of its occurrence was made okay now that he was there with her.

There was a moment of hesitation once she finally stopped crying. She pulled back enough to dab at her eyes with the edge of her sleeve; once she could see him unobscured, she smiled, caught between berating herself for her histrionics and being overjoyed that he had come back, as whole as he had been when he left.

His hand grasped her shoulder, and he looked into her eyes before he couldn't help that his eyes flickered down to her stomach. Slowly, without rush, his hand slid down her arm, before sliding up to her stomach to stroke the sizable baby bump that he could see even through the layers and layers of fabric that she wore. He sank down to one knee, stroking the lump on the otherwise slight woman that he had bedded and apparently pupped. After a moment or two, he felt a little push, and his eyebrows rose at the kick from the child.

"How long?" The gentle stroking continued, and after a moment Kagome found her voice.

"I'm uncertain. I assume I became pregnant the last time that you visited, nearly seven months ago." Kagome allowed her fingers to wind into Sesshomaru's hair, and they were together like that for a long while, just existing together, taking in their new reality. When they finally made it in, Sesshomaru's mother couldn't hide her glee in seeing her son home.


	2. Chapter 2

He couldn't stay long. Sesshomaru had only stopped into his kingdom to send a missive for more soldiers. He called in favors, revisited old alliances, and held meetings with consuls from all over Japan. He stayed within the palace for only two weeks or so, before he was gone again. He spent little time with Kagome, who was left in charge of the economy after Sesshomaru had checked the accounts. His praise had been sparing, but there, and she was glad to continue to oversee things as long as it brought him pride. Even if after he left there was a hollow pain that permeated her being.

The pain that the babe caused increased with the days. Initially, it only made walking a chore, or pressed incessantly against her bladder, but as time passed, it pressed into her lower back, making sitting or standing nearly unbearable, or kicked against the cage that was her womb, seemingly willing to fight it's way out. The more time that passed, the more Kagome regretted not knowing more about hanyo and their gestation periods, the things to be concerned about, the things that were normal.

Although all that she wanted was to curl up and cry most days, Sesshomaru's mother forced her to get up and go for walks thrice a day, despite her protests, which were loud and frequent. It was only a week and a half after Sesshomaru left that she woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, the bedding soaked through. Although she was concerned, her tired eyes closed again and she faded into and out of a dreamless sleep, until a harsh pain stabbed through her insides. She struggled to her feet, pulsating her powers at a frequency that Sesshomaru's mother had prescribed for her, should there be any concerns about the little heir residing in her womb. As she felt the demonic energy so familiar to her closing in, she struggled to resume her pacing that gave her something to focus on.

The classes she half paid attention to in school, in her time, about what to expect during childbirth came back in snippets and bits she couldn't quite piece together. In this time, in the human villages, there were customs observed that placed the woman in a separate place, away from the others in the village, although she wasn't sure of the significance of such a thing. Were births in demon circles similar? Would she have need to fear for her life after bearing a hanyo child? Was it a hanyo? Kagome's head swam with worry, and she nearly retched onto the floor she was standing upon.

Sesshomaru's mother was there within a moment or so, but the midwife took far longer, as they were located in the city, away from the palace. By the time the woman burst into the room, Kagome was struggling to resist the urge to bear down to push the pup out of her uterus. Worry permeated her, as she was well aware of the risks that doing the wrong thing could pose to not only her but this life struggling into the world.

There was a flurry of movement as her robes were parted and removed so as not to further ruin the fabric, although she'd taken to wearing cotton in lieu of silk. Moments later, they were checking to see how dilated she was, telling her to breathe through the immense pain, mopping away her perspiration with a cool cloth. The instructions were clipped and direct, and she struggled to follow. After a long while, she felt a burning, stinging sensation, and let a sob tear through her.

"I can see the head, mistress. You need to keep from pushing for a moment or two." With a whimper and a nod Kagome struggled to go against the instinct to expel this source of pain from her. Several moments passed, before a wail was heard, and the little life wriggled in the grandmother's hands for a moment or two before being passed to Kagome, who struggled to align it's mouth with her nipple.

It's head was covered in little white ringlets, no pigment in the hair. All of it's hair was the purest of whites, and it's eyes were screwed shut. But it's grip was strong and it pulled milk from her breast with very little difficulty. She felt maternal love spread through her, dulling the pain that this little life had caused her just moments before.

Something was off, though. Although she retained some of her more powerful senses, she had only heard a single heartbeat within her womb. Now, though, she could feel a fainter, smaller being within her, and she reached out to catch the midwife, who was fussing with things for the babe.

"I think there's a second baby." It was quiet, and she truly was uncertain, but the midwife simply nodded and sat again between her legs.

This one was easier, sliding out of her without much fuss or pain compared to the first one. As the midwife handed the babe to her, Kagome was struck at the sight of this one. Delicate wings fluttered against it's back, and her pure white hair was bone straight. Her little tail moved of its own accord, flopping to and fro. She struggled towards Kagome and the milk she offered, and the three of them laid like that for a long while, long enough for Kagome to pass the afterbirth and to exhaust herself beyond measure.

Kagome wasn't entirely sure of the customs of anci ent Japan, but she thought she'd stay here in the birthing room until someone came to tell her enough time had passed and she was free to move around as she pleased again. Sesshomaru's mother nodded at her, and swept out of the room, the last one to leave. It was a few minutes before Kagome succumbed to the draw of sleep, but her tired body surrounded itself in a protective barrier. In the quiet of the night, one could hear the sizzle of the mosquitoes hitting the barrier.

A pair of eyes watched the young woman through the night, looking at the smallest twitch that was made, the wriggling babes, all of it. Watching, waiting.

In the blink of an eye, the intruder was gone.


End file.
